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Posts Tagged ‘Appleton Estate’

Joy Spence, Master Blender for Appleton Estate Rum is celebrating her 20th anniversary as Master Blender of Appleton Estate Rum. She joined Appleton Estate Rum in 1982 as Chief Chemist and was appointed as the brand’s Master Distiller/Blender in 1997. At that time, Joy Spence became not only first woman to be the Master Blender of a premium rum brand, but also the first woman in the world to be the Master Blender of a global spirits brand. Since then, she has earned numerous awards, including the honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Louborough.

Joy Spence personally selected all of the rums within the blend and created all of the prototypes. She chose two very particular marques of rums to form the heart of her Anniversary blend, a 35-year-old rum (which I like to believe pays homage to her 35 years of service at Appleton Estate) and a very special 25-year-old Pot Still rum which was representative of the characteristic Pot Still style of Appleton Estate Rum. Particular attention was paid in this selection process as Joy’s aim was to choose rums which displayed harmony between the well aged oak character and the underlying Appleton Rum spirit.

We have reached the top 5 rum spirits of 2017. In mid November, I tasted each of the top 5 rums side by side to determine the final rankings. These final rankings may not absolutely agree with my previous scores when reviewing each spirit, but they do reflect my feelings regarding the relative merit of each rum in mid-November 2017.

You can continue to follow the countdown on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100Rums.

Alternatively you can view the list as it grows daily by viewing my Reveal Page:

The Appleton Estate is located in Nassau Valley in St. Elizabeth which is part of Jamaica’s Cockpit Country. The Cockpit Country is a karst formation which was formed over millions of years as the underlying limestone was eroded by the chemical action of rain. Within a cockpit karst formation are valleys known as Poljes. They are formed where a river floods, then recedes and forms a flat valley over millions of years. The soil in the poljes is very fertile and rich in nutrients because of the sediments left behind after the river had receded.

In 1749, within the polje known as the Nassau Valley, the Appleton Estate Sugar Factory was founded. The Nassau Valley has a special mild micro-climate which is ideally suited to the growth of sugarcane. As well, a water source wells from the limestone formation and provides an exceptionally soft pure water which used for the production of Appleton Estate Rums.

Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rare Blend is crafted in small batches. This is a true 12 Year Old spirit as the Appleton Estate website informs us that it all of the rums which make up this blend are each aged at least 12 years.

We have reached the top 10 rum spirits of 2017. I have reviewed and/or re-tasted each of the top 10 rums within the past year. (All Rum reviews were based upon bottle samples either purchased by myself or provided to me by industry.)

You can continue to follow the countdown on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100Rums.

Alternatively you can view the list as it grows daily by viewing my Reveal Page:

Joy Spence, Appleton Estate’s Master Blender and World’s First Female Master Blender (of a global brand) with more than 20 years of experience, was awarded the honour of the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander (CD) by the Government of Jamaica in recognition of her contribution to the promotion of Jamaica’s rum industry and Brand Jamaica globally. The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important services to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica.

Joy now finds herself among a prestigious group of fellow countrymen that have received this honor, including the current Governor-General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, and the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt.

Additionally, Joy was named one of the Most Influential Women in Food & Drink by the prestigious Food & Wine Magazine in partnership with their sister publication, Fortune Magazine. The award-winning publications recognized Joy in their list of 20 female trailblazers and trendsetters who have raised the bar and changed the way we enjoy food and drink. Joy is credited for elevating the recognition and desirability of high-end rums as a Master Blender and rum evangelist.

More about Joy Spence

Joy fell in love with chemistry at age thirteen, and set her mind on becoming a scientist. After graduating from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and the University of Loughborough with a Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry, she joined Appleton Estate in 1981 as Chief Chemist and quickly became fascinated with the art of sensory analysis and the process of creating rums. Over the next 16 years, under the expert guidance of then Master Blender, Owen Tulloch, Joy honed her acute sensory skills, developing an unrivalled mastery of taste and smell.

In 1997 Joy was appointed as the world’s first female Master Blender, shattering the spirits industry’s glass ceiling at a time when rum was primarily made and consumed by men. At once an artist and a scientist, Joy has spent the last 20 years creating some of the world’s finest rums.

Speaking about her latest achievement Joy comments:

“I am truly humbled as I never anticipated being awarded with recognitions such as these. I thank those who nominated me for their confidence and appreciation. I would also like to thank my family, colleagues and others who have supported me along the way. The work I have accomplished over these many years is the result of the passion I have for the rum industry, Appleton Estate and Brand Jamaica.”

Throughout her illustrious career numerous awards have been presented to Joy in recognition of her exceptional life’s work. Joy was previously awarded the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer, (OD) by the government of Jamaica for her service and contributions to the spirits industry in 2005 and “Outstanding Contribution” at the International Spirits Challenge in 2014. Joy was also given an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies.

2017 marks Joy’s 36th anniversary at Appleton Estate and 20th anniversary as Master Blender. She continues to pour her passion into the industry daily. To celebrate her 20th anniversary as Master Blender, this year she released Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend, a rare 25-year-old limited edition rum that is the culmination of Joy’s pioneering spirit, inventive mind, and dedication to her craft.

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The Rum Howler Blog offers our hearty congratulations to Joy Spence. The honours you have earned are well deserved!

(And I will have more on Joy Spence’s, Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary BlendRum Howler Top 100 Rums of 2017 later this year as I continue to count down the .) #Top100Rums

On March 23rd, 2017 I attended to a very special tasting event hosted by Joy Spence, Master Blender for Appleton Estate Rum. Although the focus of the event was to introduce everyone to the new Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend (see review here), I was also giving the opportunity to sample the entire family of Appleton Rums as part of the event. I acquired samples of each of the rums and today I am going to share my thoughts on one of my favourites.

The Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rare Blend is crafted in small batches. This is a true 12 Year Old spirit as the Appleton Estate website informs us that it all of the rums which make up this blend are each aged at least 12 years.

On March 23rd, 2017 I attended to a very special tasting event hosted by Joy Spence, Master Blender for Appleton Estate Rum. This wasn’t an ordinary tasting event. Joy Spence and Appleton Estate were serving a very special new rum.

Joy is celebrating her 20th anniversary as Master Blender of Appleton Estate Rum. She joined Appleton Estate Rum in 1982 as Chief Chemist and was appointed as the brand’s Master Distiller/Blender in 1997. At that time, Joy Spence became not only first woman to be the Master Blender of a premium rum brand, but also the first woman in the world to be the Master Blender of a global spirits brand. Since then, she has earned numerous awards, including the honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Louborough and, in 2016, the Golden Rum Barrel Award for the Most Influential Rum Blender of the Last 10 Years.

I hope you enjoy the review which concludes with a few serving suggestions from none other than Joy Spence herself as Joy shared with me how she would recommend enjoying her special Anniversary Rum with a small group of friends.

The Appleton Estate is located in Nassau Valley in St. Elizabeth which is part of Jamaica’s Cockpit Country. The Cockpit Country is a karst formation which was formed over millions of years. Karst is a generic name given to limestone that has been eroded by the chemical action of rain. The Appleton Estate is the only sugar estate in the world that is located within a fertile cockpit karst formation. All of the rum produced by Appleton Estate is made from sugar cane grown within the Nassau Valley, and thus Appleton Estate Rum is an expression of this unique terroir.

Appleton Jamaican White Rum has recently arrived in Alberta (distributed by Campari). The spirit is a molasses based rum produced from field to glass in Jamaica at the Appleton Estate from a combination of pot-distilled and column-distilled rums of rums which are blended and aged for up to 2 years in oak casks. The finished rum is further mellowed by carbon filtration which removes both colour and impurities. The spirit is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume and (in Canada at least) is primarily aimed at the bar trade as a cocktail spirit.

We have entered into the top 10 of my rankings of the Best Rums of 2015, and an intimidating 23-year-old masterpiece from Rum Nation (their Demerara 23 Year Old) leads us into the top 10. My favourite expression from Appleton Estate (the 12 Year Old) grabs the number 9 spot with a wonderfully complex 9 Year Old Agricole rum from Reimonenq (the only agricole Rhum to make my list) making it to number 8. Diplomatico’s sweet and succulent Reserva Exclusiva is always one of my favourites and one of the World’s most sought after rum’s the Zacapa XO (25 Year Solero) just misses the top 5.

Any of these rums would make a wonderful Christmas Gift for any rum aficionado.

Here are the next five wonderful cane spirits in my listing of the Best 25 Rums of 2015:

It was in April of 2009, that I wrote my first rambling reviews on the Ministry of Rum. If you search their old threads you will come across my original write-up on the Appleton 12 year Old Rum. It was in truth the first ‘review’ I ever wrote. It really wasn’t meant to be a review; but more of a fun write-up to let the members of that forum know what I liked and didn’t and why. That rambling thread is responsible for all that followed. About 6 months later I started this website and that write-up on the Ministry of Rum became the first review I placed on my website, just a little more fleshed out but in essence that same ‘review’ I wrote originally.

In November 2012 I revisited the Appleton 12 year Old Rum and found that my appreciation of the rum had increased substantially. Another visit to the bottle this year only reinforced that opinion. The Appleton 12 Year Old XO Rum has improved over the years (or perhaps my taste has).

Here is a link to the review of the #28 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown of the best spirits I have ever tasted.

In 1749, in the Nassau Valley of Jamaica, the Appleton Estate Sugar Factory was founded. The Nassau Valley is a fertile, interior valley with a special mild micro-climate which is ideally suited to the growth of sugarcane. A water source which wells from a limestone rock formation provides an exceptionally soft pure water which used for the production of Appleton Rums. The Appleton Estate Rum is crafted from pot stills in small batches. After blending and aging the rums are ready for bottling. Unlike most rums produced in the Caribbean, Jamaican law forbids the use of an age statement unless the entire contents of the bottle are aged at least as long as the stated age.

The Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy was produced to recognize three generations of Appleton Estate Master Blenders, Joy Spence, the current Master Blender, Owen Tulloch, the previous Master Blender, and, David Morrison the current protégé of Joy Spence. All three blenders have set their mark on this luxurious rum which is a blend of rums which range in age from 18 years to 30 years.

Here is a link to the review of the #54 spirit on my Rum Howler Top 100 Spirits Countdown.

Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rum is a molasses based rum produced on the Island of Jamaica. Over the past few years It seems that every time I re-sample this particular brand, I am forced to re-score my review and place it further up the ladder until this year it has reached the rungs occupied by what I feel are the best rums in the world.

My new score this year places the Appleton 12 Year Old Jamaican rum all the way up to the number 5 spot in my countdown of the best rums of 2014.